Zero Turn traction issues

[4570Man]

I’ve got the 28hp Kubota diesel in mine. I’d sure hate to feed the 30 hp gasser.

 

[stevem5215]

Thanks. Ugh. Sounds like I bought the wrong Z-turn.

Take it back. Most dealers offer returns within a period of time like 30 days without penalty.

It sounds to me like that Z160 is good on slopes. And that's hard to find in a ZTR.

Steve with a Simplicity ZT-2500 that's just "ok" on the slope behind my house and it too does get out of control coming down the hill as well.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Mine is the Husqvarna Z554 Professional Model.

Did fine on the slopes yesterday, even though the grass was a little wet. Maybe this model is a little heavier duty?

The Husqvarna Z500 series zero turn mower represents the latest design focused on productivity, durability and cut quality. Providing extreme comfort, high ground speeds and superior traction adds up to exceptional mowing efficiency. Industrial strength throughout the entire design assures of a long & durable service life in commercial mowing applications. Careful design consideration provides unprecedented ease in serviceability.

Motor/engine manufacturer
Kohler
Motor/engine model
ECV740
Power output
25 hp
Cutting width
54 in

 

[Gem99ultra]

One of my favorite safety advancements... but it only works on units that already have some measure of traction. Pretty sure the OP doesn't have much to go on.

Tedbrakes sure sounds like the solution. The video is from 2011; I wonder if any manufacturers picked up on the idea?

 

[cdb2]

I've got 2 acres with pretty steep hills, enough so that the ride-on lawn tractor I used for years felt too tippy trying to mow across the hills and I had lots of traction problems going either up or down them. I switched to a lawn service for a couple of years after that and watched them zip around the hills on ZTRs week after week with no trouble. So despite reading lots of warnings about ZTRs and hills, when I decided to start mowing it again I went with a Ferriz ZTR.

My personal experience is that I much prefer the ZTR to the ride-on tractor on the hills. Maybe it's the weight (I think the Ferris is around 1300lbs) or the wider stance compared to the little lawn tractor I used to have, but it's much more stable to me. I also have much better traction going up hills and a way smoother ride.

That said, I took it real slow and careful for a few months getting to know how it handled on the hills. You learn pretty quick what works and what doesn't and it's definitely helpful if you have a safe area to practice working on hills. Most important, I don't mow when it's wet and I never mow down hill or even turn down hill unless its a shallow slope. In both cases you can lose control very fast and it's hard to recover especially if you are pointed down hill. Like a previous poster said, side-to-side works great on all but the steepest hills I have, you actually have a lot of control over direction and traction just using the high-side drive. In particular anytime I start to feel like I'm close to losing traction I turn up-hill by retarding the high-side drive, that works for me to regain full control. For the very steep hill I have, I mow straight up and creep it down backwards.

Now I'm not making any recommendations to buy a ZTR for hilly terrain or not, but if you already have one all may not be lost. If you can safely practice to get some experience with it on hills you might find that it works out well for you.

 

[showcattle]

I just bought one of these last spring. Sticks to my hills great. Zero turn with a steering wheel, with a very low center of gravity. I was skeptical at first, but now I love it. I call it my "Forrest Gump zero turn ".

 

[Coyote machine]

To GWHT, (Girl who has tractor) and ZT, I would suggest you try, (test drive) my mower brand/model, and if it does everything you want it to, if you can, return your very nice, but evidently incorrect choice ZT for a Cub Cadet Pro-Z 160.
Seriously, I cannot think of any reason anyone test driving the mower wouldn't do what I did: say, "I'll take it!"

My selling dealer demoed it for me on some very steep hills at his shop location and made it turn and go up and down the hills like I would never dare to drive it, without breaking a sweat. I drove it, then my wife drove it too and gave it her thumbs up too. I came back with a trailer to take it home the same day.
Just saying, this mower saves all the messing with different tires, weights, adding brakes, whatever one can think of, and delivers the whole package for way less money than a lot of pro machines, regardless of brand.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I have driven a zero turn a couple times on my hills and it scarred me, I found myself avoiding hills so I bought a 99 JD 455 and have been exceptionally happy with it. I never have to fear hills.

Anyway, I wish they make more zero turns with steering wheels, then I might consider one.

If I had a zero turn I planned to keep, I would put ags on it or sell it for a 4wd F935 or something like that.

 

[dnw64]

Lots of ideas - thanks.

If I add weight it will be to the wheels/tires (liquid ballast and wheel weights), not the chassis. Except maybe to the front - my son has a Husky ZT that has weight on the front which was added to counter the weight of a bagger that had been previously installed. He says it adds quite a bit of stability (he used to run commercial ZTs for a lawn service).

There are several places where going sideways is simply not practical, because they are "boxed in" at the ends - you need to go either up or down at the beginning and end. However, there are some sections where it is feasible, and I will see how it works there.

The bar tires make sense as well, and if I go that route I think I would put them on "backwards" to help with braking as opposed to acceleration.

I guess the first step is to see how comfortable my wife is with the general operation of a ZT. I will dial back the controls to limit top speed to start, and see how it goes.

I guess after reading all the responses, if I were starting over I would probably have bought a new mmm for my MF GC2300.

Regarding the TedBrakes - great idea, but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Also, isn't that the guy from Everything Attachments? Not that it "matters", just interesting.

Thanks again.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Not really interested in buying an $8k mowing machine and having to add another $1k or more for an adaptation (Ted brakes). Turns out my z-turn seems to be able to deal with my hills, though with a pretty big learning curve, and more danger than I anticipated. Of course almost nothing is truly safe on steep hills, except maybe a Power-Trac or Ventrac.